homsky advanced his "government-binding" theory in a 1981 book, in which he says a child's native knowledge of syntax consists of a group of linguistic principles that define the form of any language. These principles are connected with parameters, or "switches," triggered by the child's language environment.
Chomsky emphasizes the importance of the child's genetic inheritance of the syntax imprint. For Chomsky, the "growth" of language is analogous to the growth of internal organs and arms and legs -- determined by internal mechanisms, but nourished by the environment -- whether verbal or nutritional.
Chomsky sees language development in the child as a separate aspect of knowledge, apart from the rest of cognition, or mental functioning.